9 killed, 16 injured after two buildings collapse in Hyderabad

One building collapsed onto another. Heavy machinery took over an hour to arrive at the site.

HYDERABAD: At least nine people, including women and children of a family were killed, and over 16 were injured as two buildings collapsed in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The buildings were located in Ilyasabad, in the heart of the densely populated bangle manufacturing district of the city.

One of two buildings was a 40-year old three-storied structure. It contained a bangle manufacturing workshop on the ground floor along with a furnace, like many other workshops in the area.

Though the government is yet to determine a cause for the collapse, area residents believe the furnace had weakened the building’s structure to the point that it collapsed.

Mukhtiar Ali, a resident of the area, told The Express Tribune that one of the buildings was owned by Yameen Siddiqui alias Chaudhry who lived with his brothers and their families. "Chaudhry's building fell on Akhtar Hussain's building, razing it to the ground."

Soon after the incident, locals initiated rescue efforts with government machinery unable to reach the site for over an hour after the incident.

Iron cutters were brought by the Motorway police, whereas the municipal administration got heavy machinery and debris lifters.

The deceased have been identified as Akhtar Hussain, 61, Almas, 60, Ayesha, 40, Hoor Bano, 35, Rashid Mukhtiar, 30, Konain, 10, Abdul Basit, six, Maryam, six, and Kanwal who was just 16-months old. There were four children among the 16 who were injured.

Most of the dead and injured in the accident belonged to a single family. Bangle manufacturing often involves entire families.

All the injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital. Medical superintendent Dr Shaukat Lakho said that the condition of at least four of the injured was critical.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has asked Commissioner Hyderabad division Jamal Mustafa Syed to submit an incident report to his office within three days.

A large number of houses in Ilyasabad, popularly known as ‘Choori Parah’, have bangle furnaces on their ground floors.

The Sindh Building Control Authority has repeatedly notified the bangle makers, as well as the people who live in weak and old structures to vacate their buildings but to no avail.